You and Me
by nucleareffy
Summary: Always, and forever. When eighteen year old Dipper returns to Gravity Falls over the summer, he's determined to finally win the girl of his dreams' heart. But - and there's always a but - there's a few other things he's gotta battle first. Multichaptered, older!Wendip.
1. six junes

**You and Me**

**one. **_six junes_

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><p>When a bus pulls up into Gravity Falls, all chances of peace are well and truly shattered.<p>

The sleepy Oregon town rarely got visitors and, if it did, they were usually tourists who probably had either never heard of Disneyland or had been there enough times already to the point they were sick of it.

The bus doors open with a creak. It's eerily quiet; the only passengers are two young adults and the bus driver. The first young adult bounces up out of her seat and cheers when she realises the bus has reached its destination. She begins to walk down the passageway before noticing there are no footsteps behind her. Turning around, she instantly sees that the other has his head tilted back, eyes covered by a trucker cap and a little drool threatening to spill down his chin.

Rolling her eyes, she begins to walk back to their seats right at the back of the bus. She shakes him awake and he stirs, mumbling something.

'Come on, Dipper!' she says sternly yet with a smile on her face – although, it's safe to assume that a smile is permanently tattooed on her face. 'We're here! We're finally here!'

Dipper pushes his cap up, only one eye open. 'You serious?'

'I'm serious!' she shouts, reaching out her hand for him. Now with both eyes open, Dipper's attention is all on the bus driver growing more and more aggravated at the two not getting off the bus. He groans before standing up, declining her offer to take his hand. As he walks off in front of her, the girl follows him and questions, 'Hey, what's up?'

He doesn't reply, but she catches up with him and once they're off the bus she rests her hands on his shoulders, stopping him in his tracks. 'We're back in Gravity Falls for the summer, Dipper. After _six years_! You can't be coming down with the grumpy grumps. This is not the time!'

Dipper chuckles softly, before responding matter-of-factly, 'That's not entirely true, Mabel. We came here last year.'

'Not for the summer!' Mabel exclaims. 'This is for the summer again! Aren't you excited?'

Dipper nods half-heartedly. 'Of course I am, it's just…'

'It's just what?' Mabel interrupts, but Dipper just lowers his head and sighs.

'Nothing. Let's just get our bags and head to the shack, alright?'

* * *

><p>'Kids!' a gruff voice greets the two at the front door.<p>

'Grunkle Stan!' they greet in unison. Dipper shuffles forward, while Mabel runs towards her great uncle. To his dismay, she wraps her arms around his waist and gives him a tight hug. After a few seconds, he grumbles, 'Alright, alright, that's enough affection for one day. Now get off me.'

Mabel simply laughs it off and untangles herself, stepping back to be in line with Dipper. She smiles at Stan, a big toothy smile that is braces-free.

'It's been so long! We haven't seen you in forever!' Mabel excitedly tells Stan, who's amazed that even now as a young adult she is able to be so full of life at ten in the morning. 'You haven't changed!' She looked Stan up and down, noticing how he still walked around in his boxer shorts, slippers and a plain vest. A few wrinkles had made themselves known across his face but, other than that, he was still the same Grunkle Stan Mabel had known all her life. No matter how old they got, Stan was never their great uncle – he was always her great uncle.

'You have,' Stan notices, pointing out how her braces were removed when she was fourteen. 'You've gotten taller.'

Dipper adjusts his hat and steps forward, finally speaking after staying mute. 'Yeah, people do that.'

'Ah, Dip,' Stan laughs, patting the now eighteen year old Dipper on the head. 'You definitely haven't changed.'

Dipper tilts his head to the side, closing one eye as his great uncle pats his head. In truth, Dipper felt he had changed far too much. Though he was glad to have finally had his growth spurt and now stood at an impressive 6'0 (not to mention the facial hair he'd sprouted), mentally he still felt like the same awkward twelve year old he was over the summer six Junes ago. Girls still weren't his forte, even now he had graduated from high school.

The twins had always wanted to go back to Gravity Falls ever since their first summer there when they were twelve, but never had the chance. Something always happened until eventually they realised it was unlikely they'd be heading back any time soon. It was a miracle that they even had the privilege of a short visit the year before.

But now, the two had turned adults in mid-June and here they were in the late June days, living their new life as adults.

Mabel hadn't changed much, other than growing taller and having her braces removed. She was still as outgoing as ever and boys were still her favourite thing in the whole world, despite having the nightmare that is a teenage twin brother sharing a bedroom with her to deal with. She'd had a few boyfriends throughout middle and high school, which made Dipper feel…oddly jealous. Not only in the way that he would often get protective of his sister and hurt any boy who broke her heart, but also in the sense that he wished he could have been as great with the ladies.

It was hard because, not only was he awkward still, he'd given his heart to somebody else. Whether he'd see her again he never knew, but deep down he was desperate to just see her one last time.

* * *

><p>Mabel has long disappeared, taking her bags (but not Dipper's) up into their old bedroom in the shack's attic. The place hadn't changed either; a few cobwebs decorated the corners, but everything else seemed the same. Mucus still covered the poles on the ceiling, and it still had the musky smell of wood Mabel liked.<p>

Dipper sits on the front porch, head in his hands. He feels a big hand resembling somewhat of a bear's paw touch his shoulder. Whipping his head around, he instantly recognises the face.

'Soos?' he blinks, totally amazed at the sight before him. While Stan had changed appearance-wise just a tiny bit by showing details of his age, Soos had literally not changed one bit. Not a pound on his body had been shifted or gained, and not a whisker on his chin had been plucked out. He was still the same Soos Dipper met when he was twelve and visiting Gravity Falls for the first summer.

'Yeah, hey, dude,' Soos greets in his usual manner. 'Man, you've really grown, huh.'

Dipper sighs and repeats what he said to Stan. 'Yeah. People do that…'

Soos looks at Dipper quizzically for a moment before sensing the atmosphere. 'Hey, what's up with you?'

'It's just…' Dipper's voice trails off and he keeps his eyes on the distance. 'All through middle school and all through high school I've only had one girl on my mind, and it's stupid. Now I'm here and…all I wanna do is go back home, because what if I see her again and…'

'And what?' Soos urges Dipper to continue when he pauses.

'…And, well, what if she's moved on? Does she even still live here?' though Dipper speaks cryptically, never referring to the girl by name, Soos knows exactly who she's talking about.

'Told me she goes to college upstate,' he informs the younger boy. 'But she always returns here over the summer.' Dipper's ears perk up.

'Woa, really?' his tone does a total 360 and he stares at Soos.

'Yeah, really, dude,' Soos nods with a smile.

He leans in close to Dipper's ear before whispering, 'Go find her, child.'

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I have had this idea in mind for a while, but never was too sure on how to start it. So, I guess you could say I kind of rushed this first chapter, and so I am hoping the next few will get better (especially once I really get into it).


	2. six questions

**A/N: **I realised I had anonymous reviews off, so I apologise for that. They are now on, and no longer need to be moderated! Thank you for the comments so far, I appreciate it a lot! I've started sixth form this week, so chapters may be a little slower – I have a lot of hard work to be doing!

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><p><strong>You and Me<strong>

**two. **_six questions._

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><p>Dipper creeps into the attic bedroom hours later, the dusk rays of sunshine beaming in through the only window opposite the beds that used to hold so many twelve year old dreams.<p>

His eyes land on Mabel as she lies on her bed, surrounded by an array of posters ranging from boy bands to cute kittens. Not much had changed when it came to her interests, even as she approached twenty. She lifts her head up at the sound of feet patting the floorboards, still making the same irritating sound they made all those summers ago.

'I didn't know you were still here,' Dipper comments, moving so he's standing in front of her bed. She shifts, sitting up and shuffling to the edge of her bed so she's face to face with her brother.

'I'm going later,' Mabel grins up at him, eyes starting to sparkle with excitement. The whole bus ride there, Dipper endured his sister excitedly asking about the friends she made in Gravity Falls six years ago, Grenda and Candy. Though Dipper tried to explain to Mabel how people change from twelve to eighteen (which he should have realised is not a concept his sister would grasp easily), Mabel still believed she'd be greeted by her old friends, who would have grown not even an inch. She still anticipates speaking endlessly about boys and pop music and the importance of stickers, even after graduating high school. Even after years apart, feelings hadn't changed.

Mabel hadn't been able to keep in contact with her friends. Signal was rare to find out in the woods, so texting them was near impossible. Neither had enough money to visit Piedmont, and Mabel just never had the chance to go back up to Oregon. Social networks were out of the question – though Mabel had loads and was sure her friends must have too, they never got in touch with her. Dipper felt worried for his sister that they had perhaps moved on and left her behind, but never had the heart to tell her that. He still feels that way now, in this present moment, as he watches his sister's face light up like the bulbs she sometimes implements into her hand made sweaters.

'Don't tell me you're having a sleepover,' Dipper groans, but the facetious smile on his face makes Mabel aware he's just playing around.

'Of course we're having a sleepover!' she raises her hands up in the air so powerfully that Dipper's sure she punched all the particles out of place. 'I'm gonna surprise Candy by going to her house.'

Dipper sighs. 'Okay, but…how do you know Candy hasn't moved? Or Grenda? Have you seriously not gotten in touch with them at all?'

'Nope!' Mabel's radiating so much enthusiasm that even a negative word oozes optimism. Dipper can't help but laugh softly.

With a gentle nudge on his arm, Mabel continues, 'Enough about me. Have you seen Wendy yet?'

She squints, smiling in anticipation. Dipper shakes his head, rubbing the spot where his sister nudged him.

'Nuh uh,' he says right after shaking his head, just to make sure she's clear. 'I tried talking to Soos but…his advice wasn't exactly helpful.' He shrugs, and Mabel nods in understanding.

'You should go see her! She's bound to be with her dad,' Mabel suggests, and Dipper instantly recoils in anxiety.

'No way,' Dipper dismisses the idea, backing away so that he reaches his own bed. 'Not happening. Nuh uh. Don't even go there.'

Mabel tilts her head to the side like a confused puppy. 'Why not? I thought you luuuuurved her!'

Dipper bows his head, facing the other way to hide the growing tint of pink spreading across his cheeks. 'It doesn't…matter now, really.' He's aware he's mumbling, but silently glad that maybe, just maybe, she won't hear him.

Mabel opens her mouth to speak, but Dipper gets in first. 'Tomorrow. Okay? Will that make you happy?'

Her mouth recloses and she purses her lips, silently staring at her brother from her bed before moving towards him. She places her hands on his shoulders, feeling him flinch underneath her fingertips.

'Dipper…' her voice is so much quieter and softer than it was just a matter of minutes ago. 'It's not about making me happy. It's about making _you _happy.'

The moment of seriousness between them is snapped into two pieces when Mabel boops his nose, making a complementary 'boop' sound to accompany it. Dipper can't help but smile at his sister, who simply smiles back. Gently she lifts her hands off his shoulders and picks up a bright pink, riddled-with-stickers rucksack that had been dumped by the end of her bed.

'I'm gonna go now,' she tells him, and he nods in response. 'You should go find her. I bet she'll see you now and fall right into your arms!'

She flounces out the door, closing it behind her.

Dipper stands in the middle of the room, alone in his thoughts.

'I bet she won't…' he whispers under his breath, falling back onto his bed and sighing as he does so.

* * *

><p>Dipper's eyes break open, and he's unsure of where he is. Looking around, he realises he's still in the attic of his great uncle's tourist trap, but Mabel is not in the bed next to his. Feeling his heart jolt momentarily, he frantically glances at his watch. Only half an hour, if not less, had passed.<p>

The bus ride had been rather early in the morning, much to the young adults' dismay. Dipper hadn't gotten much sleep in the night. His thoughts had been completely occupied by the same face he had tattooed onto his mind all those summers ago. Dipper's last memory of her was as a fifteen year old girl; he knows she would have changed. There's no way she wouldn't have changed, appearance-wise, anyway. Still, the memory refused to leave his mind.

He had so many questions that just kept resounding and circulating within his mind. If she had changed, how much had she changed?

Was she still the girl he had fallen in love with at twelve years old?

Dipper sits up and positions himself so that he's holding his pillow in his arms and resting his head on it, lying on his front. He allows the pillow to completely engulf his face as he continues to hear a cacophony of thoughts whizzing around his mind.

Would she stay with her father over the summer? Did he even live at the same place?

Even when his mind would wander to thoughts of Mabel and he would wonder if she was doing alright despite his previous worries – he assumes she is, because half an hour had passed since she'd left which was a good sign she had found someone and was out with them – his thoughts always reverted straight back to Wendy.

He'd never forgotten the way her autumnal auburn hair gleamed the most beautiful colour when the sunlight hit it. He'd always picture her face and count the dots with the freckles on her cheeks.

Another question hit him like a ton of bricks. Would he still feel that way if he saw her again?

He'd never considered that. Even with his typically pessimistic outlook, he never realised that there is still the possibility that his feelings may eventually wither. He really never had registered the thought – mainly because his heart would still thump against his rib cage like it was fighting to escape whenever he pictured her, and he knew the way his palms would grow sweaty just at the thought of holding her hand would never lie to him. It really did say it all.

But one question, one final question, began to slither its unwelcome way in.

…Would she even love _him?_


End file.
